Aditya Roy Kapur’s recent release Metro…In Dino has done well at the theatres. The actor, who has experienced the big screen as well as the web, enjoys both the mediums.

“A film is a commercial enterprise and when it opens in a theatre, you want it to do well. However, at the end of the day, you have to let go, irrespective of how the film does. There’s an added zing to a theatrical release that is not apparent when something releases on OTT. But on OTT, you’re a little more relaxed, which is fun too,” says Aditya, who has been part of successful OTT outings such as Ludo (2020) and The Night Manager (2023).

He adds that having a film hit the big screen “is an amazing feeling”. Talking about his recent outing, directed by Anurag Basu, the 39-year-old says,

“I was so excited to be back with Dada (Anurag). We had such a great time on Ludo, but it felt like it was not complete. It felt like there was more to explore, so when he called about this film and told me the ideas that he had for this track, and for this character, it was very exciting,” he says.

The actor was seen alongside actor Sara Ali Khan as his love interest in Metro… In Dino. Earlier, his romantic pairings with actor Shraddha Kapoor in Aashiqui 2 (2013) and actor Disha Patani in Malang (2020) were also appreciated for their chemistry.

Ask how he manages to strike that on screen, Aditya says, “I don’t think it’s something two people can sit and plan, saying we will now conjure it up. It’s either there or not there. And that’s for the audience to judge. Good writing helps though and so does a good director, as they put you in situations that bring the best out of the two actors.”

Aditya Roy Kapur isn’t a fan of promotions. But he is having a ball promoting Metro... In Dino. The actor is enjoying getting to know his co-stars as they join forces for Anurag Basu’s romantic drama.

Tell him that the movie is a much-needed antidote to action films that are dominating the box office, and Kapur says, “A lot of people have said that a film like this is releasing after long. When it comes to choosing projects, we tend to focus on what’s in front of us. You ask yourself: does this story connect with me? Once a certain kind of film does well, it triggers a chain reaction. That’s how the business works. Hopefully, people will connect with this film, and maybe we’ll see more of these stories being made again.”

Metro… In Dino marks the actor’s second collaboration with Basu after Ludo (2020). Starring Kapur, Sara Ali Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Pankaj Tripathi, Neena Gupta, Anupam Kher, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Ali Fazal, the movie explores various shades of love. How easy is it to play the quintessential romantic hero? “People often underestimate how tricky it can be,” says Kapur.

“You need to lean into your own charm, make it feel current, and still keep it honest. It comes down to the writing. I don’t think Anurag sir would ever do something that feels uninspired. By now, Dada and I have developed a shorthand. There’s an instinctual understanding of what he wants. He wants his actors to be experimental; he doesn’t judge you if something doesn’t land. Also, he thrives on improvisation. He can rewrite a dialogue, change a scene, or shift the energy. Being on his set has taught me that sometimes, the takes where you feel unsure are the best ones.”

Usually stars are wary of ensemble movies. Filmmaker Rohit Shetty has often said that today’s actors are too egoistic to share screen space. But Kapur has no such qualms.

“It’s about not denying myself a good opportunity. When Dada spoke about this new story, it sounded exciting. I wasn’t going to pass it up for some arbitrary reason like screen space or strategy. I started my career doing supporting roles. In my first film [London Dreams, 2009], I played a small part. I’m happy with my path.”

There is a reason everyone awaits an Anurag Basu film. The world he builds is a lot like the one we live in — it has lost souls seeking answers, flawed people trying to be better, and almost everyone wishing to find love amid their hustle in the city. All this, with a dollop of hope. And honesty, points out Aditya Roy Kapur.

“There is honesty in how Dada [Basu] writes his relationships,” says the actor, who stars in the filmmaker’s upcoming release, Metro…In Dino.

Yesterday, the makers released the trailer of Metro…In Dino, a sequel of sorts to the much loved Life in a… Metro (2007). With the film, Kapur — who featured in Basu’s Ludo (2020) — is happy to dive back into the director’s world of tangled love stories and messy human connections. This time, he is joined by co-stars Sara Ali Khan, Neena Gupta, Anupam Kher, Pankaj Tripathi, Konkona Sensharma, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Ali Fazal.

“You have to strip yourself bare to feel all the love, loss, and longing he has poured into the story. With this project, there is also a musical element, where we had to figure out how to go from talking to singing, and then back to talking. Navigating that was challenging, but also rewarding,” he smiles.

Kapur’s 16-year career has enabled him to explore romantic dramas, action films, and thrillers. It’s the slice-of-life films that he has a soft spot for, he admits. “It’s a gift to play someone larger than life, but those small moments and awkward silences are equally important. That helps an actor grow,” he says, adding that the idea is to balance intense roles with light-hearted ones.

“My character here is idiosyncratic. That gave me the opportunity to have fun with it. My last outing was The Night Manager [2023]. It’s nice to go from that intense role to something lighter. I enjoyed the first Metro. So, while doing this, I’d look forward to going to work every day. My journey as an actor is about trying things that I haven’t done before. It’s exciting to have that slight fear when you’re going into the unknown. You are the most alive and can possibly do your best work when you’re at the edge of fear. It’s nice to be in a space where you’re not sure because that means you’re pushing yourself into a place you haven’t been in.”

What are his hopes from the film? “I hope people see themselves in it,” he promptly replies.

Fatima Sana Shaikh’s latest release Dhak Dhak is a tale of sisterhood. To the actor, sisterhood could well be the off-camera theme of her next, Sam Bahadur. Meghna Gulzar’s directorial venture, after all, reunites Shaikh with her Dangal (2016) co-star Sanya Malhotra. But while their debut film saw them share several scenes together, Sam Bahadur has left her wishing for a full-fledged film with Malhotra. 

“I am aching to do a film where we have a lot of interactions because she is an incredible actor,” she smiles.

Their friendship is a fitting answer to the industry that revels in pitting contemporaries against one another. To Shaikh, comparisons with Malhotra are only background noise.

“Recently, Sanya and I were discussing that two actors might begin their careers together, but their journeys won’t ever be the same. Our choices will be different depending on where we come from. Initially I used to wonder why they were comparing us. But I am content where I am, knowing I am here because of my choices. I have to be kind to myself because if I am not, then I am putting myself down. That’s something I won’t do.”

In the seven years since the sports drama, the actor has come a long way, building a diverse filmography. While her film choices are guided by instinct, she attributes her work ethic to mentor-friend Aamir Khan. Spending time with him on the sets of Dangal and Thugs Of Hindostan (2018) has been a learning in itself.

“When Sanya and I started our careers, he was such a professional on set. Seeing his strong work ethics, we also developed that. When you see a star behaving in such a sincere manner, you realise that being there on time and learning your lines is the least an actor can do.”

These years have also taught her the value of having dependable friends in the cut-throat industry. She feels lucky in that regard, counting Khan, Anurag Basu, Shonali Bose and Anil Kapoor among her well-wishers. The actor, who is reuniting with Basu for Metro… In Dino, reveals the director helped her become less critical of herself.

She recalls, “Dada has helped build my confidence. When I did Ludo [2020], I used to criticise myself a lot. I’d keep saying that I am not a good actor. But Dada kept on saying, ‘Don’t be so harsh on yourself. You are good.’ Then I felt that if Anurag Basu was saying this, there must be something in me.”

Aditya Roy Kapur is no stranger to love from fans and grand gestures of admiration. But that it can also get out of hand in no time was illustrated when a female fan got uncomfortably close to the actor and tried to kiss him. Handling situations like this can be tricky, but Kapur managed it without hurting any sentiments in the process.

“This fan love is very flattering. One only feels gratitude for it. At the end of the day, if people are appreciating you, spending hours waiting for you to come somewhere, it’s so good. I can understand where someone might get over intrusive, but it is not something I felt frazzled by. I can understand,” says Kapur.

Fan obsession, which crosses boundaries and violates celebs’ personal space, is never acceptable, but the 37-year-old feels the fan didn’t “mean any harm”. “It (the kiss) might not have been an appropriate thing, but it comes from a place of love. I take it as something to feel flattered about,” explains Kapur.

The actor is currently basking in the compliments coming his way for his performance in the web show The Night Manager. “The biggest barometer for a web project’s success is what people you meet have to say. This one had something for everyone,” he gushes.

While Kapur has always been praised for his looks, is such praise for his performance a validation for his acting chops? He says, “I think they actually do (look at my acting now). In Ludo (2020), too, I played a character that was not necessarily glam — he was an oddball. Then, in Malang (2020), I had a different look. This show was a different type of project, and required a different kind of performance from me. It was totally something unique from what I had done before.”

Earlier this week, filmmaker Anurag Basu announced 'Metro...In Dino', an anthology of four stories exploring modern-day love and relationships. The film—starring Aditya Roy Kapur, Sara Ali Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta, Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal and Fatima Sana Shaikh—is a spiritual sequel to Basu’s much-loved Life In A Metro (2007).

While Kapur and Khan will begin shooting for their portion this month, it is now learnt that Fazal and Shaikh will face the camera for Basu in February 2023.

The two play a modern-day couple based in Delhi, and will film their segment in the capital. “It’s a happy slice-of-life story that Ali loved at the first narration. He has been keen to work with Anurag for a long time. The director roped in Fatima for the story, having collaborated with her on Ludo,” says a source from the creative team.

The filmmaker, on his part, had often expressed his desire to make a sequel to his 2007 drama. “It was during the first lockdown in 2020 that he finally got the idea for another anthology. The story will have four segments, each story going on to be linked with one another in the end. Anurag had done a remarkable job of interweaving four different stories in Ludo. Metro…In Dino will have a similar flavour, but will be treated in a different style.”

Actor Rohit Saraf might have had back to back releases on the digital platform, but he doesn’t want that to define him. That’s why he is not okay with the label of being an OTT star.

The 25-year-old asserts, “I do not want to label myself as an OTT actor, or a film actor. If there is even a street play, and I think it is really exciting and something from which I can learn, I will do it.”

Saraf walked into Bollywood with Dear Zindagi in 2016, following it up with Hichki (2018), and The Sky Is Pink (2019). It was followed by back to back OTT outings with Ludo (2020), Mismatched and Feels Like Ishq.

He admits his focus is on doing good work which makes him happy. “Now, whether that project releases on an OTT platform, on YouTube or in the theatre, it doesn’t really matter. But I don’t want to put myself in a box saying that I’m an OTT star” says the actor.

Saraf continues, “That’s because it was never the case to begin with. I started off with films, which did well at the box office, and simultaneously I was doing TV commercials. Ludo was also for theatre, but released on the OTT platform because of the pandemic.”

For him, the idea is to expand himself where he can reach every single person in this country and the world. “This year is very exciting for me. There is Mismatched Season 2, and Vikram Vedha with (actor) Hrithik Roshan, which has been a dream. It is also something outside of my comfort zone... Things are looking brighter for me,” he concludes.

After making a great start with a film like Dangal, when the OTT space opened up, she dived in and made the most of it with back-to-back projects. In the last two years, Sanya Malhotra has had five releases on OTT platforms, which featured her in author backed roles.

She says, “As an artiste, it doesn’t bother me where a film releases, as long as it reaches people. It would matter to me if I was a producer. For an actor, when a film drops on OTT, it takes a lot of pressure off you. Frankly, I don’t know how pressure and art can really function together. The last three years have changed the dynamics of the industry so much. There is such varied and so much work for the actors. Yes, bade parde pe film dekhna aur apni film wahan release hona is a dream that I won’t let go of. It has its own charm.”

Sanya is among those few actors who have had films releasing at regular intervals throughout the pandemic, including movies like Pagglait and Meenakshi Sundareshwar. Bring it up, and she says, “Personally and professionally, I think 2021 was great, and I have nothing to complain about. Professionally, I would also include 2020 in this. The characters I played were good for my career. They got a love of love and a heartwarming response, which was very encouraging. They were two fantastic years for my career, but I don’t think any of us ever got off the emotional roller-coaster ride that we have been on since what feels like forever. The last year just flew by. I just hope 2022 is as good workwise. I hope more films go to theatres, and hopefully, we can all tackle the pandemic together while taking care of ourselves.”

Among her upcoming projects is Sam Bahadur, Meghna Gulzar’s biopic on Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw, which features Vicky Kaushal in the title role and also has Sanya sharing screen space with her Dangal co-star Fatima Sana Shaikh.

She plays Maneckshaw’s wife, Siloo, in the movie. “A story like Sam Bahadur does not land on your table every day. I am really looking forward to playing Siloo. This is my third collaboration with Fatima after Dangal and Ludo. It’s so good to do a film with her. We had started our journeys together and I love how well she has carved her space. At the same time, I am happy and grateful for what I have on my table,” she signs off.

Jagga Jasoos (2017) remains Anurag Basu’s most creatively satisfying work. That the audience did not buy into his charming, almost fantastical world is a different story altogether. Thankfully, with the advent of digital entertainment, the show business and audience preferences have changed in the four years since the Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif-starrer bombed at the box office. Would the adventures of Kapoor’s wide-eyed Jagga Bagchi interest the viewers today? Some think so.

Basu says that over the past two years, he has fielded offers from some streaming giants to convert Jagga Jasoos into a series. “I wouldn’t name the platforms, but we had offers of developing it into a series. But if it didn’t work in theatres, how do we know it will work on OTT? Pritam is excited about the idea, and wants us to start working on it. However, I am in a strange space [regarding it]. When you do something with so much love and it doesn’t work, you don’t want to try it again. The idea of starting Jagga all over again is enough to give me the chills,” says the filmmaker.

Basu and Kapoor had jointly set up Picture Shuru Productions to back the adventure comedy. Even if he entertains the idea of taking the story ahead as a web series, the director notes that his leading man’s busy date diary will be a roadblock. “We keep talking about working together again, but that won’t happen anytime soon. Ranbir is extremely busy right now,” he says.

For now, the filmmaker is working on a yet-unannounced episodic project for a major OTT player — his second outing on the web after the Netflix film, Ludo. The film recently won him the Best Director award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. “[Ludo was released] in 35 languages and 200 countries; this kind of reach wouldn’t be possible in a theatrical [run]. OTT gives more strength to filmmakers. I believe the audience knows its mind, and it’s not correct to offer them shallow works. People have become more cinema-literate in the lockdown. My fear of whether [a project] will work or not, has now reduced considerably.”

Having been a popular child actor and later making a mark with the Aamir Khan production, Dangal (2016), Fatima Sana Shaikh admits that she has no qualms about approaching filmmakers that she wants to work with. She doesn’t shy away from sending texts or calling people in the industry and feels at times, it is necessary.

“I do that to remind people that I exist. I don’t do a lot of films, so I am not always there. Kabhi kabhi log casting mein bhool jaate hain ki yeh bhi actor hai. It is very important to hustle. Until and unless you don’t fight for your space and your positioning, no one else will. If I have to call and remind someone that I am there and I don’t mind auditioning, it’s okay. It’s not a bad quality to have. I know of many actors who have achieved a lot in their lives by doing so. I like to create opportunities for myself and just not sit at home and wonder mere paas kaam kyun nahin hai. Aapko mehnat karni padegi aur kaam mangna padega,” she says.

She is glad that she has been able to entertain people in the last six months amid a pandemic with three releases – Ludo, Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari (both 2020), and the anthology Ajeeb Daastaans. “I am glad that people are getting to see my work. Eventually, you work to entertain people. Pandemic hai, things are shut, and I can’t be more grateful that people are able to see my work that I shot before the pandemic. I feel great that we have OTT platforms that are airing films, which are not able to release in theatres. We now have a new medium to connect with the audiences.”

Glad that the reaction to her last release Ajeeb Daastans was encouraging, she shares, “Many people from the industry reached out. It’s always special when people from industry appreciate your work as it gives you validation and hope. But, also the audiences’ response matters, who are the king and if they don’t like your work, it is game over.”

Earlier this year, she shot for a film with Anil Kapoor, who she admits she admires.

“He is the life of the set and an incredible person. Always excited and passionate,” she states.

She further adds, “When I sign films, it is more about instinct. My driving force is not always a big project or that this film has this big actor, and that’s why I should do it. What drives me is a good script and good director.”

It has been over a year since the Coronavirus crisis hit India, and thus began the rise of online streaming platforms. With theatres shut for most part of the last year, and even now, many films meant for a theatrical release took the OTT route. Abhishek Bachchan had not one, but two of his films — Ludo and The Big Bull — released digitally. The best thing about such releases, says the actor, is the fact that the hype around numbers doesn’t take place as is the case with big screen releases.

“Earlier, traditionally, the film’s trailer would come out six to eight weeks prior to its release; now we get a shorter window. By the time the film is out, as an actor, the excitement goes out of the window because of all the nervousness around initial reactions to the film,” he says and quips, “But, I have to admit that on a scale of one to 100, if theatrical is a 100, with films coming out on streaming platforms directly, nervousness level is at around 98.”

The 45-year-old notes how in case of theatres, the opening day and weekend collections, and this whole number game at the box-office consumes an actor.

“But in case of the web, they don’t release this kind of info. So, it’s a sustained release. There’s no pressure to watch it first day first show, it’s going to be available. That’s the only thing slightly lesser — the pressure to meet opening day figures. Rest of it is pretty much still the same,” he explains.

Having spent two decades in the film industry and played a variety of roles on screen, Bachchan admits that even today, he gets anxious before the release of films.

He reasons, “At times, there are months and years of collective hard work and sacrifice that go into making a film. And suddenly, the product is not going to be yours anymore. You hand it over to the audience.”

Last year his web debut, Breathe -  Into The Shadows and then Ludo, were received well by viewers. This year, The Big Bull, opened to mixed reviews and Bachchan is happy. He directs all the praise towards the film’s co-producer, Ajay Devgn. “He has my best intentions in mind. I have an immense responsibility towards him. I was so lucky, it was a wonderful script and actors would give an arm and a leg for a role like this,” he says.

Motherhood makes you a better person, feels actor Pearle Maaney. Due in March, she believes that bringing up a child would help her grow emotionally, keep her grounded and, in turn, make her a better performer, too.

“With motherhood, nothing changes when it comes to work choices. As more responsibilities enter your life, you need to be able to juggle everything. That’s what a woman is all about and I’m preparing myself to do so,” states the Malayalam actor, who is a DJ, screenwriter and producer as well, adding that as an actor, she is “trying to choose parts that are challenging and this approach won’t change for anything.”

Maaney, 31, shares that while a female actor is often asked how birth of her child would change her career choices, a “male actor isn’t usually answerable” and she feels it’s time this mindset changes. “I hope directors consider me an actor and not a married woman or a mother, and work with me for my talent. In Kerala, most top actresses are married with kids. But it didn’t affect their performance or choices,” she states.

Calling motherhood “the best feeling and education in the world”, she adds, “The baby would teach me a lot of things, help me see the world from a different perspective which is more pure, real and innocent. It’ll remind me of who I am.”

Meanwhile, besides her upcoming Tamil film, she has been getting been getting offers from Bollywood and web, too. “The good thing is when I told them I’m pregnant, they said they are ready to wait. I think once you work with dada (Anurag Basu, director of Ludo), more doors open for you,” she ends.

Offering him a chance to graduate from directing on television, to debuting in films, producer Mukesh Bhatt asked Anurag Basu in the early 2000s how much he would charge. Mukesh, well-known in Bollywood to be frugal with expenses, suggested, "Rs 7 lakh?"

Basu agreed so instantly to the number that, taken aback, and in that split sentence, Bhatt revised that Rs 7 lakh into a two-film deal! "In just two seconds, huh," Basu laughs. "But it was my stepping stone, I was just an outsider, getting to learn a lot; I would have done it for free," he says; no complaints still.

This would've been for his forgotten debut Saaya (2003, starring John Abraham, Tara Sharma). Having delivered a box-office dud, the sets for Basu's second film had also been mounted, when he had stopped showing up at the office of Vishesh Films (run by brothers Mukesh and Mahesh Bhatt). He told the producer, he'd "lost confidence" in the film they were about to shoot/start in a few days.

But there was a half-constructed set, paid for, while Vishesh Films were already reeling under a string of flops. "Ghuma phira ke", Basu narrated an idea around what Mukesh had suggested. Driving back home, he found actor Kashmera Shah sitting at the Barista coffee shop in Lokhandwala. He stopped to ask if she'd dance for a song, which Anu Malik composed in a couple of days.

They utilised that set for a track, Dil ko hazaar baar roka, and carried on with another film altogether. Which was? Murder (2004). It gave Basu tremendous box-office cred. The film went on to collect Rs 75 crore. And Basu received? Rs 3.5 lakh - second tranche of his two-movie deal - making him perhaps the best directorial ROI for a producer, in the history of Hindi films!

Male audiences across North India lined up to catch the skin-fest Murder - evidently inspired by Adrian Lyne's Unfaithful (2002) - mainly to ogle at Mallika Sherawat. It's Emraan Hashmi, the male lead, who became the single-screen sensation: "He became a rage!"

Every producer at the time, top ones included, had a DVD of a sleazy Hollywood film that they wanted Basu to convert into a Hindi movie! Murder itself belonged to a B-movie genre (that subsequently became a franchise).

How Basu elevated it still is with a certain level of soft lighting and warm aesthetics: "Aesthetics are in-built, you cannot change it. It's the way you see things. I used to also shoot television like that," he says.

In fact, you can notice even more of that - surely the film industry did - in Basu's Gangster (2006), a musical drama, loosely based on underworld don Abu Salem and his moll, '90s starlet Monica Bedi's escapades. Who became the star from that movie? Debutant Kangana Ranaut.

"Of the 20-25 girls we auditioned for the part, her face just stuck in my head - there was something unique about her," Basu recalls. Did he foresee her success? "In the beginning, she needed guidance for everything. But she is a really fast learner. I have seen her growth during the filming of Gangster itself."

What about her public persona, as the relentless online troll, if you may? Did he see this coming? "Not really. We usually don't meet, but whenever we do, this [public] persona is not the Kangana I [know] personally. So I think there are two Kanganas. Beech wali [the other one] I don't understand."

Basu, 46, Bengali boy from Bhilai, moved to Bombay to pursue a graduation degree in physics, and look around for work in the entertainment industry alongside. Lives of the young in the steel township he comes from are chiefly centred on cracking medical and engineering exams. He got exposed to story-telling and performance arts, because of the theatre group that his father ran as a hobby. And they'd travel with plays at amateur theatre competitions across India.

In the sense of Bollywood, Basu belongs to a productive class of the early '90s actors/filmmakers, from various parts of India, looking to build a career in showbiz, and who gradually took over Bollywood's reins later.

He started out as a 22-year-old assistant allowed to direct a scene in the popular television show Tara - putting his foot down among veteran actors, so they took him seriously, which was becoming an issue. He exited TV about a decade after, as the highest paid director: "I used to make as much from a month of TV, as I did from my first film."

There are also the common stories of doing producers' rounds, hanging around Prithvi in Juhu, approaching Shyam Benegal, Sriram Raghavan to assist. Also, accidentally, dancing behind Mithun Chakraborty, as the hero's friend, in a film called Dalaal (1993) - because the director was Bengali (Partho Ghosh), and they were looking for a bilingual Bengali assistant to help communicate at an outdoor location!

There is a scene in Vikramaditya Motwane's film AK vs AK (2020), where the self-referenced protagonist, director Anurag Kashyap, is casually referred to as Anurag Basu. This is partly true in the reverse as well, as it turns out, since Basu would get messages meant for Kashyap back when there were pagers for communication (or the lack of it).

In fact, they have a lot more in common, I discover, during this conversation, including Benegal, Raghavan, Prithvi, a play that both were meant to do for Makarand Deshpande. And, inevitably, stories around the adorable old miser Mukesh Bhatt!

Where similarities between Kashyap and Basu end is, of course, in their cinematic worldview. Even a gun-toting thriller with dames and dons, Ludo (2020), in Basu's hands, turns into a joyously musical carnival of atrangi/colourful/shiny characters! His films are more fantastical in their approach, yet experimental in their own right. While it may not seem so, he says, they are actually drawn from reality.

The semi-silent musical Barfi, he reveals, is based on a real-life girl Razia (played by Priyanka Chopra, and who she actually met later), and a boy with hearing impairment called Murtaza (that was Ranbir Kapoor).

Basu knew these two from a special school in Goregaon, which had a branch near his Andheri office. He had locked Barfi's script, the sleeper super-hit of 2012, at the same time as he'd finished writing Super 30, based on Bihari math wiz Anand Kumar, that later got made with Hrithik Roshan, directed by Vikas Bahl.

Likewise, the lead character (played by Ranbir) in the full-blast, theme-park adventure Jagga Jasoos (2017), of a young man who stammers, but not when he sings, is essentially Basu's long-time music collaborator, Pritam!

Katrina Kaif's character in the same movie, he says, is wholly modelled on his clumsy wife Tani: "Calamity Jane, that's her. She could be holding a cup, and be left with just the handle. Lots of stuff that happens [to Katrina] in the film has actually happened before me in real life with Tani."

Calamity is also how Jagga Jasoos got blasted as, by a wide section of the film industry, upon release - given how long it took to make it in the first place (roughly over four years). "Yeah, too long, actually," Basu admits. "We could have finished a year before. There is not a single thing I can pinpoint [for what went wrong]. Ranbir [the lead] was shooting and promoting four films [Besharam, Bombay Velvet, Roy, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil] during this time. I could have put my foot down and requested him not to. But then, Pritam also wanted time to make music. I didn't know where to balance. Even after all this time, we were rushing with post-production, five months before release!"

Then there was the story from Jagga Jasoos sets about veteran actor Govinda being hired, he'd even shot, and then was fired: "Govinda ji did come with us. With such delays already with the shoot, [there was confusion] if Govinda ji is coming on the set, or is he cancelling the flight, or is he taking the fight, or are we cancelling shoot? It was so unpredictable. I couldn't have taken that stress, yaar. We were shooting outdoor in South Africa, everything was lined up. I just had to [let go of him]."

Not that Basu isn't used to this level of stress - more so, a barrage of take-downs, post the release of a film. The biggest case study in his career might well be Kites (2010), a hugely ambitious trans-Atlantic release, headlined by Hrithik Roshan, with the Mexican tele-novella star Barbara Mori in the female lead.

Kites opened to theatres in India with desis wondering what language the film they had walked into was in - English, Spanish; or Hindi? The budgets clearly didn't match the public response to this immensely stylised romantic thriller.

Basu himself felt as lost during the making of Kites, he remembers, as the audiences did after its release: "Take a film like Gangster. I wanted to shoot in Korea. I asked my producer [Mukesh Bhatt] if I could. He'd be like, 'Here's Rs 3 crore - finish the film within it. Now I don't care if you go to Honolulu, or anywhere else.' So, I knew my budget; production was in my hands. That's what I was used to. With Kites, it wasn't like that. I was just going there and directing. And we would discuss how we are going to execute [the scenes]. I was not thinking of market, returns… It started out as a small, indie [film]. It was taking its shape, with four or five people making decisions. Also my vision and [producer] Rakesh ji's [Roshan] were separate. Eventually, yeh naa idhar ka raha, naa udhar ka [it belonged to neither an international nor a local audience]."

Which isn't to tone down Basu's own reputation, mostly suggested warmly by his colleagues, of him revelling in the chaos of filmmaking - deriving magic from the spontaneity of a moment, rather than over-planning. While this may cause major heartburn, if the money involved is massive, it has surprisingly served him well in the mainstream.

Actors who've worked with him often speak about showing up on the set, with little idea of what they're meant to do. The scene develops as they go along. This can be a scary process, yes. It hasn't stopped him from attracting some of the top Bollywood stars around. Case in point is Ludo (2020), with more bona fide movie-industry leads (Rajkummar Rao, Abhishek Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Pankaj Tripathi, et al) than you can fit into two-and-half hours, without each seeming like cameos.

"I was not like this when doing television. This process of mine started somewhere during the making of Gangster. Kangana was new. Shiney [Ahuja] used to come over-prepared. There used to be a struggle to get the performance right. Too many retakes. Also, when I started wearing the hat of writer, director and producer [with Life In A Metro], I didn't have to deliver a script to anyone." The key reason for playing it by ear, he believes, is that "actors don't usually get the full arc of a film." It's better if they live in the moment.

"Also, I don't commit to a scene till the last moment. In [Life In A] Metro, for example, there is a scene where Kay Kay [Menon] and Shilpa [Shetty] confess about cheating on each other. She talks about Shiney [Ahuja]. I was staging the scene, with Shilpa and an assistant, who's also an actor. And there's a dialogue that just slipped off the tongue; Kay Kay asks, 'Bachcha toh mera hai na?' [I'm the kid's dad, right?] That wasn't there in the script. It appeared in the heat of the moment on the set. I thrive on that actually."

Which is also similar to how Basu winged it with Life In A Metro (2007) in the first place. He had only written the script until interval point, when he met (then) UTV's head honcho Ronnie Screwvala for a narration. To adequately fill time, and keep Screwvala and others sufficiently entertained, he got composer-friend Pritam to tag along, and play music all through the narration. The script got sold, while he was halfway into fleshing it out!

Everybody calls Basu, Dada (for elder brother), in Bollywood. As Bengali adults are affectionately named - regardless of their age. Director Basu Chatterjee was Basu Da even to millennials; he died at 93. A well-known Bengali trait with Basu is actually his penchant for the adda (fun chat), as I can sense, while he generally eases into talking about his life, with a gentleness/lightness of touch that often eludes the successful/self-aware.

As a person/artiste, he finds himself connecting the most with the other great Bengali, Kishore Da - Kishore Kumar: "Every time I read about him, I realise, arre, he thinks like me - his madness, his world, it is fascinating." Basu has been sitting on the draft of a Kishore Kumar biopic for years, determined to make it. It hasn't worked out, yet. "It will be made by me, promise, very soon," he says.

Like Kishore Da, Basu is also a polymath of sorts. You can gauge that from his last movie, the mad, mad Ludo, that dropped on Netflix in November. He was the film's cinematographer, writer, director, producer, along with playing the role of the traditional sutradhar (narrator) on screen. This was one of the early movies to finish shoot while the pandemic was still on. Surely they would've taken adequate precautions shooting the final scenes. Although having sanitiser on set and shooting with a mask on isn't novel for Basu.

Shortly after the success of Murder, he was diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Doctors gave him a few weeks, max: "It just happened too quickly. One day I just saw my reflection, and I didn't know this is what I was looking like - the internal bleeding was happening, buckets of blood going out. I just wanted to breathe right, until I went on the ventilator for 17 days. It took a toll on my dad, actually. His health deteriorated after that. It was tough on my family."

There is a scene in Life In A Metro, where Nafisa Ali's character dies in an ambulance, in a traffic jam: "I thought this was going to happen to me, when I was being shifted from Lilavati [Hospital] to Tata [Memorial Centre]."

This was also the time Basu was in the midst of a film called Tumsa Nahin Dekha (2004, starring Hashmi, Dia Mirza). But the film, as he says, was all in his head. And he was struggling for life. Each day, he would relay instructions recorded into a dictaphone from his hospital bed, to keep the shoot going.

The treatment, of course, carried on for a couple of years: "I had become really thin; had my mask on. There were hospital bills to recover, with treatment in the ICU that had gone on for really long. There was a survival issue, with regard to money. I went to my old television colleagues at Zee and Sony, and they gave me shows to do. I had no film. So, it was back to square one. I did television for over a year."

He got on a film-set finally with Gangster: "I also had Life In A Metro to make. But decided that I may as well be with Vishesh Films at the point. [Producer] Mukesh ji used to carry a sanitiser in his bag, yell at me if I wasn't being careful. They were not greedy; they were careful about my health. They asked me to wait, and I didn't want to."

A close brush with death, one presumes, changes man forever. I ask Basu if he sees it that way - a before and after, as it were: "My rights and wrongs are the same. But I have become less cynical about things, I'm more positive."

On an observable plane, he concludes, "That is [also] when I decided to turn producer. [Life In A] Metro happened because of that. I thought, when I make movies, I should also make money. It is important to keep money for your family."

Completing 20 years in the Hindi film industry, making his web debut, and topping it off with good reviews for his direct to OTT film Ludo, Abhishek Bachchan was on a roll in 2020. A low point was him getting diagnosed with Covid-19 but he emerged victorious in that battle as well. We get talking to the man himself, who was also among the first crop of actors to step out and resume work amid the pandemic.

I am very grateful that I got to do some work and it released. I am grateful to the makers, the cast, and obviously above all, the audience. You feel blessed and lucky. At the end of the day, we work for the audiences’ acknowledgement and appreciation. What more can you ask for, than you being able to do your job and them liking it?

I never thought of it like that. I started working on Breathe in 2018. At that time, there wasn’t any timeline as to when we would release it. Incidentally, I also started working on Ludo that year. Once you make a film, there are so many other aspects that you’ve got before releasing it. You leave it to the producers and studio. But, is it special? I would say, it was sort of a silver lining to this year.

I was more filled with concern for my family than anything else. My father (Amitabh Bachchan), wife (Aishwarya) and daughter (Aaradhya) got it too, thankfully my mother (Jaya) did not. Obviously, you are concerned about your loved ones and want them to be alright. There is little that you can do. I have to thank all the doctors and nurses who cared and worked so hard. I never actually had the time to sit and contemplate.

There is a concern at the back of your mind. That wasn’t for me, but who I am getting back home to. I live with my entire family, my parents are of a certain age. If you are going to be all out day, and come home, you get concerned. Somewhere, I have the confidence that if I am going to take care, chances of anything untoward happening are reduced. 

Actor Rajkummar Rao has had a good 2020. He might have not had any theatrical release due to the Coronavirus shutdown of theatres, but both of his direct-to-OTT releases — Ludo and Chhalaang — performed quite well.

One wonders if Rao had any apprehensions about both these films not waiting for theatres to reopen. The actor quips, “We make films so that people should watch it. We want as many people as possible, and now the circumstances are such, it will take some time for normalcy to return. OTT platforms have such great reach.”

Not just this, he has also done a web show, Bose, so he clearly realises the potential the platforms hold. He calls it an industry and not a medium.

“It’s definitely a powerful industry, there are some great series coming out. It’s generating so much employment, there are so many actors who’re talented but for some reasons aren’t getting work. There are now so many opportunities. It’s a very good thing, they are churning out great content,” he says.

Apart from films releasing digitally, the web space has also attracted a lot of big names to make their debuts, just like Rao. There’s also talk about how the star system will go for a toss, with all kinds of content and stars being on the same level on the web.

Rao weighs in on this and says, “I think if you do good work and if people like your work, they’ll make you a star. For me, I know people are really badly waiting for Pataal Lok season 2, Mirzapur, Sacred Games — these are originals.”

But also Rao also adds that the cinema going experience cannot be replaced. “Theatres are very important. Whatever we are today is because of theatres and our films. The OTT industry will always be there, as a very strong parallel industry, but nothing can replace the community viewing experience,” concludes Rao who has Badhaai Do and RoohiAfzana lined up.

As theatres took a back seat in the Coronavirus pandemic, it was OTT platforms that came to the forefront to entertain audiences. For Sanya Malhotra, too, the possibility of showcasing her work to her audiences became a reality only because of digital platforms.

The actor, who had two releases this year — Shakuntala Devi and Ludo — says, “As an actor, I am very happy that during the pandemic I got to entertain audiences. I was grateful that people could watch my movies and maybe take their mind off whatever is going on in the world right now. As an artiste it is gratifying to entertain people in such circumstances.”

While she admits that digitally released films are not exactly the usual way to connect with the masses, Malhotra asserts that this is the best option available right now. 

“Obviously theatrical releases have their own magic, but I really like OTT, too. I like the idea of sitting in the comfort of my home and watching a film with my family. It has its own charm. I am also hoping that with theatres opening, we can get back to normal soon. But this is something major that we all need to fight before everything opens up,” she points out.

The 28-year-old, who was in Delhi with her family for the first four months of the pandemic, is getting back in work mode. While the fate of many films remains uncertain as to when they end up releasing, Malhotra is sure of one thing: that the big screen will never die out.

“That charm will stay forever, because going to a theatre is also an experience. Planning and getting ready and visiting with friends and family. It is an event. OTT is necessary for right now, but bade parde ka charm khatam nahin hoga,” she concludes.

In a career spanning two decades, actor Abhishek Bachchan has tried his hand at a variety of things, not restricting himself to one genre. And quite early on, he got comfortable with carrying a film on his shoulders as well as sharing screen space in an ensemble cast. His latest release, Ludo, fits in the latter category.

At the outset, he expresses his apprehension over stories that do the rounds about any actor’s ego involving screen time coming in the way when part of a multi-starrer project. He says, “Sadly, we label this as an actor’s ego. I understand why the media would label it as such; it’s more sensational, and is the easiest way to explain a situation. It’s actually not that.”

Bachchan adds that every actor is looking out for themselves, and want to do their best to be seen. “It comes from that desire to excel in whatever you are doing... When other actors are involved, it’s survival of the fittest. It’s a basic instinct in human beings. I don’t think it purely stems from insecurity. Yes, one has heard of such stories. It takes an actor of immense self-assurance and security in what they are doing, to not even allow thoughts like that to come to your mind,” explains the 44-year-old.

Having been part of multi-starrers such as Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006), Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007), Bol Bachchan (2012) and Dhoom franchise, the actor says that ego has never been a problem for him. “I don’t allow that to come into my work. I’ve been around for 20 years, learnt a lot of things. Things like ego are only going to destroy your work, and won’t get you anywhere,” he shares.

Talking about Ludo, which has fetched him good reviews, the actor says he didn’t get much screen time with everyone, since his track had only him and child actor Inayat together.

“I am very comfortable with and enjoy doing an ensemble piece. I have done a lot of multi-starrers, and if not all, they have been with highly accomplished actors such as Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan or my father (Amitabh Bachchan). It’s a pleasure to be around and learn from them. The silver lining is that when you are in the same frame with these people, you live off reflected glory to some extent. They are so good, they make you look good,” Bachchan says.

Criticism is something that Aditya Roy Kapur is not unfamiliar with but there was incessant trolling that happened post the release of his film, Sadak 2. But the Aashiqui 2 (2013) actor does not like to dwell on it.

“I don’t take all the criticism in. I’m technologically challenged so I don’t have social media other than Instagram. I’m not on any other stuff which is incessantly giving you that information,” he says.

Talking about the criticism that a film receives post its release, the actor says there is not much one can do about it. “Some situations are just out of control. Even a film is out of your control once you have done it. There is nothing that I am going to achieve by hemming and hawing about it when there is nothing I can do. In the case of that film ignorance was bliss,” he adds.

Enjoying the success of his latest film, Ludo, which released digitally, the actor says “it has been a good year” for him despite the negativity around the film industry and the ongoing pandemic.

The 35-year-old says the past seven months have not been that difficult for him because he wasn’t the only one sitting at home without work. “We were all going through the same problems and that gives you a certain amount of strength as well,” he says.

Kapur adds, “You’ve to look at the positive side of things rather than yearning to do something that is not possible and will get you nowhere.”

Actor Rajkummar Rao is back in action, and currently in Chandigarh shooting for his next with Kriti Sanon. However, considering the Coronavirus scare, there must have been a lot of thinking he had to do. The actor agrees, and says, “Of course, I was a little apprehensive. But the kind of preparation we have here, we lived in a bubble for the first seven days. Everybody is getting tested regularly, and there are a lot of safety precautions that the team is taking, which is amazing. The credit goes to them, they all are being very alert.”

Film industries across the world were impacted massively when the shutdown took place to curb the pandemic. Lately, many actors have been working, with standard operating procedures put in place by the government. The actor agrees that it’s important for the industry to get back on it’s feet again.

“I think work is important, and thanks to Akshay (Kumar) sir, starting with Bellbottom. He managed to finish a whole film, which is amazing! After a while things will go back to normal, people would want to go out and watch films, so we have to start making them. Of course, keeping safety in mind,” Rao adds.

The 36-year-old, apart from his shoot, also had two of his films, Chhalaang and Ludo, release back to back on different digital platforms, and he managed to garner good reviews for both. Rao says that he didn’t plan it this way. “Of course I didn’t want it this way. That’s how makers thought, it’s festive season, and we are a country of 1.3 billion people. They would have wanted to see films and great content. I am sure they wouldn’t have done this in theatres, because on OTT, you can watch as per your convenience,” he says.

Several times in the past, there’s been a buzz about how issues can crop up between actors when they are working together in a multi-starrer, and screen time is one of them. While Chhalaang was a solo lead, Ludo boasts of several actors with equally substantial parts.

Ask him whether he ever had to go through the same, and whether he prefers one type of project over the other, and Rao says, “I am an actor, I am comfortable with either. I have always done multi-starrers. I don’t mind it. If it’s a good story, you should be a part of it. Of course you keep doing your films where you are the lead, but then if there’s an exciting story or opportunities… I feel, for me, the greed to work with someone like Anurag Basu (director of Ludo), was immense.”

His tale on sin, virtue, and second chances earning favourable reviews from cinephiles, Ludo director Anurag Basu is already eyeing a second edition of the crime drama. "I had initially written 12 to 15 stories, and we eventually short-listed five for this edition," says the director, alluding that he has enough material for the making of part two of the Netflix project. "The script of the sequel is partially ready, and creating another version will be commercially beneficial for everyone associated with the project. However, I am mulling over whether or not working on it will be creatively [inspiring], so, I am yet to decide if I will create it again. We will have clarity by December."

Basu's anthology, that is eventually laced together at the culmination, features an ensemble cast including Abhishek Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sanya Malhotra, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Pankaj Tripathi, among others.

While the lessons imparted by the Mahabharata is an underlying theme across the film, a fair amount of negotiation went into analysing how they should depict them. "Initially, we wanted to make a film that would make people laugh without taking a moral stand. But, given that we opened [with a scene that had a reference to it], it was no longer the subtext that it was initially intended to be. The Mahabharata is the biggest example of good, bad, and grey [characters]. Since it emerged to be more prominent than we had intended, we decided to use it [well] to say what we needed to."

Meanwhile, enjoying the taste of success for a film that hit the web instead of the big screen was a unique experience. "Each night, we look up [social media] to see the responses. We were used to checking opening collections of films but this is a new experience. It is nice to see that the digital audience makes an effort to share opinions, even though they take time to do so."